The Easter bunny might have to break out snow shoes over the
weekend to deliver his baskets of chocolate.

Old Man Winter will make a triumphant return to the region
starting today, with snow showers and colder temperatures expected
through the early portion of next week.

“This could be a cold spring,” meteorologist Mike Connelly said
with just a pinch of sarcasm on Wednesday from the State College
Bureau of the National Weather Service. “All the cold air has to
drain out of Canada eventually.”

Not soon enough for most residents, who experienced a touch of
spring fever over the past few weeks, with highs reaching into the
70s on some occasions. That will all be a distant memory, however,
as winter weary Bradfordians replace sandals for boots and
windbreakers for winter jackets.

According to Connelly, a large system currently hovering over
the Great Lakes is to blame for the change, but Bradford and the
surrounding area will see a small break, with the winds coming out
of the west – traditionally warmer and dry.

“The mix of air is really unstable,” Connelly said, adding the
wind direction moving forward over the next couple of days is more
favorable for snow showers across western Pennsylvania.

“It’s really going to be hit and miss snow showers,” Connelly
said. “There will be some squall-type events.”

What that means is residents will have to fight through an inch
of snow today, with 1 to 3 inches likely tonight. The chance for
snow showers – and colder temperatures – stretches through Monday,
when rain starts to reappear in the forecast.

The next chance for warmer weather: Wednesday, with cloudy skies
and a high of 50.

“We are not looking at any one big event this time around,”
Connelly said. “It’s just going to be pretty miserable.”

Long-range forecasts call for temperatures to steadily rise over
the next few weeks.

The second half of winter has been completely opposite of the
first half, when unseasonable and warmer weather permeated the
region. It has been a different story, however, over the past few
months, especially in March, when the area experienced all of
Mother Nature’s worst – ice, snow and floods.